Feel This Moment
by DancingKitKat
Summary: How did Sally get to Radiator Springs? Did Mater and Holley ever get that first date? And what would happen if Lightning and Mater took their girlfriends on a date... to tip tractors? A series of fun, romantic, and just plain crazy one-shots! Plenty of fluff. ;) I own no one from the original Cars and Cars 2 movies.
1. Go

**Disclaimer: I don't own anyone from the original Cars or Cars 2 movies.**

...

Sally closed the files drawer in front of her with an angry bang. She was so depressed that she wasn't doing a very good job at work, and that was stressing her out. She was afraid of losing her job, although, truth be told, she was considering finding a different city to move to. She enjoyed being a lawyer, but being a lawyer in L.A. was so hectic, she was barely able to keep up with her work. However, if she was fired before she could quit, that wouldn't look good on her resumé and make getting a new job much harder.

Sally finished up her work, and it was about seven at night before she was done. Almost in tears of frustration, she drove out of the office and looked down the street in the direction of her house. She was there so long that someone actually honked at her to move. Well, the noise may not have been directed at her - cars were always honking at each other in Los Angles. Sally thought for a second before she did something that would change her forever.

She turned and drove away.

Sally kept driving through the night. She drove down freeways, highways, and back roads. By morning, she had no idea where the heck she was, but she didn't care.

At least, she didn't care until she heard a POP! and felt something running freely throughout her engine.

Sally's eyes widened in panic. Her radiator had broke!

"Oh, crap," she muttered. "That's not good, that is SO not good..."

Her engine hissed, and steam started to float out of under her hood.

"Oh, gosh, please no..." she groaned as she pulled over. Sally's eyes darted everywhere, looking for any sign of another car, but as far as she could tell, she was in the middle of nowhere, except for the Interstate down the side of the mountain. Her engine was starting to get too hot...

The only thing she saw was a run-down sort of motel. She pulled herself over by it, and was almost to the entrance before the heat in her engine swelled unbearably and the world went dark. Her last thought was, "I should never have done this. Now, I'm going to die in the middle of nowhere."

...

She woke up a few hours later, wondering if she was dead, a bright light shining directly in her eyes. Sally winced and blinked. The light seemed less harsh as her eyes reopened, and she was able to see.

Parked in front of her was a dark blue Hudson Hornet. Well, actually, he was under her - she was on a car lift. She yelped in surprise and looked around. Sally seemed to be in a clinic, but she had no idea how she had come to be there. The last thing she remembered was breaking down on a dusty road in the middle of nowhere.

"Um, hi?" Sally said to the Hudson Hornet. "Where - where am I?" She bit her lower lip, afraid he would say that she had died. She was okay with death in general, but in life, she had never had a chance to be truly happy.

"Radiator Springs," he replied in a gravelly voice. Oh. So she wasn't dead. She still had a shot at being happy in life. That was good.

"Where's that?"

"Carburetor County."

"Uh, okay. Who are you?"

He looked a little apprehensive for some reason as he replied, "Doc Hudson, but just call me Doc."

Sally nodded. "Well, I'm Sally Carrera. Why am I here?"

"You broke down at the Wheels Well Motel, or at least that's what it used to be. Your radiator broke and your engine overheated. Mater found you and towed you here to be fixed up," he explained as he rolled over to a spot underneath Sally. She cringed, - what else is a woman going to do when a random male goes under her? - but he came back out a second later as the lift came down.

"Thanks," Sally said gratefully. She tentatively rolled off the lift, half-expecting her engine to start smoking again, but her engine was fine. She sighed in relief before turning to face Doc. "How much do I owe you?"

"Nothing, it's fine," Doc grunted. Her eyes widened a bit. She had been expecting him to say, well, a lot, but he had saved her life for and apparently he had done it FOR FREE?

"Wait, what?" Sally asked lamely.

"It's fine, you don't owe me anything," Doc repeated.

"Are you sure? I mean, you saved my life," Sally argued. She wasn't exactly eager to cough up a few hundred dollars, but she also didn't want this guy to have fixed her up for nothing.

"Really, Miss Carrera, it's fine," he insisted. Sally studied him for a moment. As a lawyer, she was good at sizing people up, and with only a few minutes, she would know their basic personalities. Her gut was telling her that Doc wasn't going to give up on his side of the argument. Defeated, Sally dipped her hood into a nod. Doc grunted in satisfaction before saying, "Good. Now, I suggest you get some gas at Flo's before leaving."

"Okay. Well, thank you so much, Doc," she said, smiling. He gave her a small smile on return before turning away, cuing her to leave.

She drove out the door, looking for 'Flo's'. It seemed to be about noon, and the town was baking under the hot desert sun. Sally saw a gas station and drove over, feeling a little self-conscious as the few cars there looked over at her. She forced a smile on her face.

"Hi," she said as she pulled in. A chorus of greetings responded to her. As a she hit the lever to fill up her tank, a rusty tow-truck drove up to her.

"Feelin' alrigh'?" he asked. "I'm Mater, like in 'tuh-Mater', just without the 'tuh'."

His statement threw her off a little, but she recovered quickly. "Hi, Mater, I'm Sally Carrera."

He nodded as more cars came up and introduced themselves. Everyone seemed nice, but a little lonely. There was a sort of defeated feel in the air. Sally's tank filled up, but she wasn't in a hurry - she stayed to talk to the people of Radiator Springs. She drove around a bit, and she found herself becoming enchanted with the almost-abandoned town. As she saw more and more of it, and learned of it's past, it's heyday, she started to want to see it like that. Sally wanted to fix the town, return it to it's old glory.

And that's what she did.

Sally stayed in Radiator Springs. She ordered things online and fixed up the Cozy Cone Motel. She dreamed of fixing Wheels Well, the place where she had broken down. She had driven up there the day after she landed in the tiny town, and totally fallen in love with the breathe-taking view. However, she would have to wait to fix the motel there - it was too expensive and the work would take several cars. The townsfolk seemed to want to help, but they had already given up. They swore that the town would never stand another chance, not with the Interstate. Sally didn't believe that. She wait for a chance to fix up the town and get them back on the map.

Sally never gave up, even though it sometimes seemed impossible. At least, it seemed impossible until almost half a year after she had found Radiator Springs, when a racecar named Lightning McQueen raced into the town.


	2. Can't Stop the Rain

Holley Shiftwell reversed into the shadows, unnoticed by the two cars driving past. She bit her lower lip, struggling to keep the tears in. Her parents lay unmoving in the corner across from her. This was like Harry Potter... Wait, what? Okay, that was the most random thought ever to have entered Holley's head.

"Where's their little brat?" someone growled.

"If she hasn't come out yet, she's probably not here. Maybe she's at a friend's house, or maybe we killed her. What kind of kid watches their parents die and does nothing to stop it?" another car replied, sounding annoyed. "Come on, Acer, let's get outta here."

Acer looked around a few times before following the other car out of the Shiftwell's home. Holley waited a few minutes to make sure they were gone before shooting out of the shadows towards her parents.

"Mum? Dad? W-wake up! Come o-on w-wake up!" Holley screamed, tears streaming from her windshield and down her hood, fearing her parents would never wake up. "P-please wake up..."

Holley nudged her mother's body and looked into her once-beautiful face. Mrs. Lily Shiftwell had vivid green eyes, eyes she had passed down to her daughter, and a red paint job, but you could barely see her paint color hidden under the dust from the explosion that one of the cars - Acer - had caused moments before.

On Lily's other side was her husband, Mark Shiftwell. He was a blue Lamborghini with brown eyes.

And he was a spy.

Mark Shiftwell was very much wanted dead in the criminal world. Almost every car that could be called by the name of criminal wanted his hood on a silver platter. Holley didn't know too much about any of his missions, but he said they were dangerous and exciting. Holley's dream was to become like him.

Holley spun herself around as she heard an engine quietly rev in the shadows she had just been hiding in. She whimpered in fear and grief as a young silvery-blue Aston Martin rolled into the dim light cast upon the Shiftwell's home by a street light outside.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you," he said softly as he tried to soothe her. She growled quietly and retreated a bit, but he just pulled up a little closer. "I'm Finn McMissile. I'm a spy, like your dad. His agency sent me to back him up when he sent out a signal for help. Who are you?"

Holley stared at him, trying to decide wether or not she could trust him. "You can trust me," he insisted. "Really, I'm not like the guys who killed your parents."

"So th-they are d-dead?" Holley stammered, her voice hollow. She had been sure of ever since she had seen the bullets enter their bodies, but that didn't mean she wanted to believe it. Finn dropped his gaze.

"I'm sorry," he murmured respectively.

"It wasn't your fault or anything, right?" Holley asked nervously, rolling another foot back. Finn looked up at her so quickly it scared the eleven-year-old even more.

"Me? Never! I would never kill one of C.H.R.O.M.E.'s greatest agents!" Finn exclaimed indignantly. Then he winced and lowered his voice, his eyes darting around as if he expected the two cars that had shot Holley's parents to come back. Holley nodded slightly. "So, what is your name?"

"H-Holley," she muttered, biting her lower lip nervously. She wanted Finn to leave her alone and let her mourn her parents. She wanted to hide in the shadows and never come back out.

"Well, Holley, we need to get out of here now. Will you come with me? I don't want those thugs to come back and hurt you," Finn said. Holley searched his face. He didn't look like he was lying, but then again, spies were trained to hide their true emotions.

"Where are you going to take me?" she asked quietly.

"C.H.R.O.M.E.'s headquarters. You can train to be a spy there - you have it in your genes. I think you would make an excellent addition to the C.H.R.O.M.E. agents," Finn replied, rolling closer. Holley tried to back away some more, but she ran out of room as her back bumper hit the half-demolished wall. She whimpered in fear - she hated the feeling of being cornered.

"Please don't hurt me," she whispered, trying to keep her tears from falling. Finn stopped.

"I promise you'll be fine, just come with me."

"Do you promise you aren't one of them?"

"Yes, Holley. I promise," Finn insisted, starting to look agitated. "Holley, we must go now. Please come with me. I won't hurt you. I promise you will be safe with me."

Holley studied him for just a second longer before she dipped her hood in a nod. Finn seemed to relax a bit. "Good. Now come on," he said. He turned around and started to lead Holley out of the crumbling building before there was a sharp noise that pierced through the eerie silence of the night - a gunshot.

Holley froze in her tracks as Finn zipped back to her side. His guns folded out of his body as he looked around. "Don't... move," he growled between gritted teeth, his eyes narrowed. There was another gunshot, and Holley felt something whoosh over her, then a small explosion behind her. She heard Finn grunt as he pointed his guns in the direction that the bullet had come from. "Come out now," Finn announced.

A second later, a Gremlin sped out from the shadows, headed straight towards Finn with his gun drawn. Finn raced at him, and then screeched to a halt, swinging his rear end towards the Gremlin. It hit the rusty car, and he yelled as he flipped over Finn, landing on his roof. "Holley!" Finn yelled. "Come on!"

Holley unfroze and zipped towards him. They sped out of the building. Another gun fired behind them, but it's bullet missed as they ducked into a dark ally. "Siddeley's waiting for us just up ahead," Finn called to Holley, who was racing along as fast as she could about ten feet behind her. Holley didn't understand what he meant, but she just kept on driving.

The two raced out of the ally and Holley looked up as something else whooshed above her. She looked up - it was an airplane. "Finn," it called down. "I'm going to land in the farmer's field about a mile north of here, okay?"

"Got it," Finn called back up. The plane sped away, and Holley and Finn followed it. Holley was beginning to get tired, but she ignored the fact that she needed to slow down.

I seemed like years before Holley and Finn made it to the field that Siddeley had told them about. The jet was waiting for them, his engine roaring. "Come on!" he yelled. Holley and Finn put on one last burst of speed as another gun fired in the distance. Thankfully, it didn't seem to land anywhere close to them.

Holley sped up the ramp and into Siddeley. Finn followed, and the door shut as Siddeley started to take off again.

"You okay, mate?" Siddeley asked Finn.

"Never better," Finn replied, looking in his rear-view mirrors. Holley saw what he was looking at - part of his right tailfin had been blown off.

"Are you okay?" Holley gasped, racing over to him. Finn nodded.

"I'll be fine," Finn reassured her. Holley looked at him worriedly as she nodded, then she took a look around Siddeley. There was all sorts of high-tech.. things.. that Holley didn't have any clue to what they were.

"Wow," she breathed. Finn nodded.

"It's really something, isn't it?"

Holley nodded in agreement, then she looked at the floor. "W-what's going to happen to me?" she asked quietly. She hated feeling like this. Helpless. Grieved. Stupid. Fearful. Why hadn't she done anything to help her parents? She had just watch them die, and she hadn't raised a tire - she had been too scared.

"Holley?"

Holley looked at Finn, shaken from her thoughts. "Sorry, what?" she asked. The nineteen-year-old spy repeated his answer to her first question.

"You can come to the C.H.R.O.M.E. headquarters. If you want to train to become a spy, than you can. If not, then we can work something out. You could be adopted, if you want. Do you have any family members that could take you in?" Finn asked, looking at the young Jaguar. She seemed like she would be a good spy - after all, her father had been one of the best in the business.

"I would like to train to become a spy," Holley didn't hesitate with her choice. She wanted to train to be like her father - fearless. Brave. Smart. Confident. Everything she didn't feel like right now.

Finn nodded. "Then that will gladly be arranged," he told her, and he turned away to call the C.H.R.O.M.E. headquarters. And that's how Holley Shiftwell came to become a C.H.R.O.M.E. spy.

...

**Hey guys! Hope you liked this! Please review! **

**Thanks for reading!**

**Kitty**


	3. A Thousand Years

**Okay, you guys, this one-shot takes place after Cars 2 , and... DOC IS ALIVE! YAAY! LOL, I really like Doc, and it nearly killed ME when I learned he died before Cars 2, but since I am AWESOME, I'll make him alive for this one-shot. YOU'RE WELCOME. ;)**

**And on to the one-shot, but first, a couple of wise and sophisticated words to my fellow Potterheads...**

**OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHTHERE'SGONNABEASPINN-OFFSE RIESTOHARRYPOTTER!**

**In cause you did not follow that, there's gonna be a spin-off movie series to the Harry potter films! WHOOO! It's about Newt Scamander, the guy who wrote 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'. At first, when I heard the plot, i was disappointed cause it sounded sorta lame, but then I thought about it, and I realized that it's IMPOSSIBLE for J.K. Rowling to direct/write/produce or whatever she does a bad film! So yeah, you're welcome, Potterheads who did not know that!**

**Okay, NOW onto the one-shot!**

* * *

Sally was almost hoarse by the time Lightning reached the 190th lap from screaming his name so loudly. He was in the lead for his fifth Piston Cup, and it looked like he had it in the bag.

"Hicks is coming up behind you," Doc grunted into his headset. Sally looked up at him - she was in the pit row for the race. She wasn't able to make it to very many of her boyfriend's races, but when she did, she almost always got to watch from the pits.

"Okay, thanks, Doc," Lightning's voice crackled over the radio. Sally watched as Lightning sped up, but so did Chick, and he was gaining on Lightning pretty quickly.

"Keep going. Don't let that little wreck from earlier stop you," Doc told Lightning. Sally winced - Lightning had been in a minor wreck early in the race. He had been fine, but she supposed that he was tired from having to work so hard catching up.

"Yup," Lightning sighed, then speed up maybe a mile or two more. Hicks was still gaining on him, the suddenly, he lost his grip on the track, and he started swerving.

"Chicks is right behind you, and he's loose," Doc exclaimed. Sally watched as Hicks struggled to keep up. He shot forward and lost even more control before slamming into Lightning's back bumper.

Lightning's eyes widened and his rear end went swerving in a wide circle. "Doc, I - OW!" Sally heard him yell into his radio. He rammed into Hicks's front bumper, and he swung back. The motion caused him to flip.

Sally gasped. Halfway through Lightning's flip, Hicks, who looked panicked, crashed his roof into Lightning's. Lightning flew off the track, his body twisting and turning every way, flying up in the air and crashing back down, until finally he came to a stop.

Sally was too shocked to scream. She couldn't even breathe. Doc raced down the ramp on the pit box and sped out to where Lightning was, yelling in his headset. Sally shook herself out of her shock and followed.

They reached Lightning. He had smoke billowing from his engine and a couple of other areas, and he had dents, scratches, and dirt everywhere. His spoiler was bent in a weird shape, his eyes were closed and his breaths were rattling rasps. "Stickers? Stickers?" Sally asked worriedly, looking up at Doc. "Oh, Lord, what - what do we do?"

"Kid? Can you hear me?" Doc asked in a loud voice. "Lightning?"

A moment later, Lightning groaned softly. "Stickers?" Sally repeated, driving close to him, but then the emergency vehicles pulled up, and she was forced to pull away as they examined him. She heard someone say that he'd be going to the nearest hospital in a helicopter, and Sally's engine seemed to freeze over. Helicopters only took cars to hospitals if their injuries were life-threatening.

Sally pushed through the cars gently, trying to catch a glimpse of the car she loved. "Stickers! Lightning!" she called over the din, but she didn't get a response. Doc pulled her away.

"Let them do their job, Sally," he said gruffly, worry and pain in his voice. Sally quietly obeyed. I took her a moment to gather her strength and pop the question.

"Doc, will he be... okay?" Sally whispered fearfully. Somehow, Doc heard her, even over the noise.

"Hopefully, but that was one heck of a crash," Doc looked broken.

"I know what you're thinking, and Doc, it wasn't your fault. It was an accident, these things happen," Sally reassured the older car, although half of her was struggling to not scream at him for keeping him safe, even though he wouldn't have been able to do anything differently.

"Are you two Doc Hudson and Sally Carrera?" a young official-looking car asked Sally and Doc, interrupting their conversation. Sally and Doc nodded. "Okay, Mr. McQueen is going to be flown via helicopter to the nearest hospital. He's in a bad state. I'm guessing you too would like to stay with him?"

Sally and Doc nodded again. "The helicopter will be here in about three minutes. In the meantime, trained medical cars are tending to Mr. McQueen the best they can. He has some major injuries, like broken windows, severely bent wheel axles, and a partially crushed engine, which is being tended to right now. He may have to get an engine replacement for that."

"Thank you," Sally said, her voice hoarse. The car nodded and drove off, and Sally struggled not to break down in tears. If Lightning died...

"No," she muttered to herself.

"What was that, Sally?" Doc asked gruffly, looking at the young sports car.

"Nothing," Sally muttered. "_No_," she thought. "_Stickers will be fine. He. Will. Be. Fine. Now shut up!_"

* * *

Lightning was loaded into the helicopter, and Sally and Doc rolled in after the paramedics. The helicopter lifted off with a small jolt that made Sally want to throw up. She was terribly afraid of heights, but she would do anything to stay with Lightning in his darkest moment.

Sally took a series of deep breaths, trying to steady herself. Around her tenth one, there was a small groan from a supposedly-unconscious Lightning. Sally gasped slightly. "Stickers?"

Lightning moaned again as he struggled to open his eyes. "Sally?" he asked hoarsely. Immediately, the three paramedics looked at Sally, then went back to working on the wrecked race car's engine. Sally struggled to not cry, and she frowned slightly. She normally didn't have to work this hard to contain her emotions.

"I'm right here, love," she said pulling up next to him.

"What happened?"

"You were in a wreck."

"Oh. Duh."

Sally gave a small, forced-sounding laugh at her boyfriend's attempted joke. "How do you feel?" Sally asked uncertainly. It was sort of a lame question, but what else could she do?

"Like I was in a wreck," Lightning stated the obvious. Then he winced. "Ow... What happened to my engine? It's killing me."

Sally tried not to cringe at the ironic phrase. "Um, it was partially crushed."

"Oh, gosh."

"I talked to a doctor and she said you may have to get an engine replacement," Sally nervously informed him.

"Great," Lightning said sarcastically. Then he took a look around, although he couldn't see too much with his mangled hood up, which probably wasn't all that great of a view. "Where are we?"

"Helicopter," Sally replied with a little distaste. Lightning's hood widened and he looked at Sally.

"But Sally, you're afraid of heights," Lightning started to say, but Sally interrupted him.

"I wanted to stay with you," Sally reassured him. He smiled a bit at her, but then gave a shaky gasp of pain. His windshield started to slid shut. "Stickers? Stickers? Lightning, love, please stay with me," Sally pleaded, getting as close to Lightning as she could without actually touching and hurting him, but it was no use.

"Sally," he mumbled before he went unconscious. Sally sank down on her tires, feeling helpless. Doc drove up next to her and gave her limp tire a quick squeeze.

"He'll be fine," Doc murmured. Sally just closed her eyes and leaned against the older car, trying to keep the tears in.

* * *

They landed at the hospital, and Lightning was rushed to the operating room. It had been decided on the helicopter that he needed an engine replacement ASAP. Sally and Doc just drove into the waiting room and... waited.

Sally dozed a couple of times, but it was never a deep or a peaceful sleep. Images of Lightning twisting and turning through the air, the panicked and pained look on his face, kept flying through Sally's mind, jostling her awake in fear. Finally around one in the morning, Sally and Doc received the good news that Lightning had made it through surgery safely. He had gotten an engine replacement, the necessary windows replaced, his axles replaced, and several pipes in his undercarriage fixed. He was currently asleep, but would hopefully wake up soon. In the meantime, Sally and Doc could go in his room and wait for him to come around.

"Oh, thank goodness," Sally breathed in relief to Doc as the doctor showed the two to Lightning's hospital room. "I was so scared..."

"Same here," Doc grunted gruffly. Sally raised an eyelid. She had never heard Doc admit to being scared before. He just didn't seem like the type that could be scared by anything.

The doctor showed them Lightning's room before drove off to go perform surgery on another car or whatever it is that doctors did. Sally and Doc drove into Lightning's room.

There were machines everywhere, some that were beeping and giving off a sinister sort of glow. Most of them went under Lightning's hood or in his undercarriage. Lightning was unconscious on a stiff-looking mattress, unaware of the danger he had just safely passed through. His body was smooth and dent-free again, but his paintjob was badly damaged. Sally could barely see any of his usual bright red. She just parked just inside the doorway and looked at him for a few minutes before Doc convinced her to get in a more comfortable position and try to catch some sleep.

"Doc, I'm not t-t-tired," Sally yawned, giving herself away. Doc gave her a look, and she relaxed her frame in defeat. "Fine, maybe a little..."

Sally parked in a corner, and within minutes, she was asleep.

* * *

Sally woke up a few hours later to an uncomfortable pang in her tank. It was dark, and Lightning and Doc both seemed to be asleep. Sally relaxed when she saw that Lightning seemed to be fine, but stiffened when she felt that pang again. Then, her eyes widened a bit and she bit her lower lip as she hastily rolled into the bathroom and vomited into the toilet. She hoped neither of the boys heard her. They would only worry, and right now, she wasn't the one to be worried over.

"Sally?" Doc's voice called softly from the other side of the door. Sally bit back a groan as she tried to hold in her last meal so she could respond, but failed. "Sally, are you okay?"

"Yeah!" she managed to reply as she flushed the toilet, praying she was done and wondering what she had eaten to make her throw up. "I'm fine, Doc!"

"Are you sure? It sounded like you were -"

"Nope, Doc, I'm absolutely fine," Sally tried to assure him as she washed her tires.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, of course. Why wouldn't I be?" Sally asked as she finished washing off her tires and rinsed her mouth quickly before she rolled out into Lightning's room, trying to not look guilty. Doc looked at her suspiciously.

"Sally, are you positive? It sounded like you were throwing up in there," Doc pointed out. Sally opened her mouth to deny it, but just sighed as she admitted that she had been. "Did you eat anything funny yesterday?"

"No."

"Have you vomited recently?"

"No," Sally lied, remembering the previous morning.

"Do you feel fine otherwise?"

"I'm a little tired, but then again, I was up most of the night."

"Have you been sick lately?"

"Doc, I'm fine!" Sally blurted out, a sharp and annoyed tone that she never really used in her voice. Doc looked slightly taken aback, and she bit her lip in regret. "Sorry, Doc, I didn't mean for it to come out that way."

"It's fine," Doc assured her, but the look in his eyes were faraway, like he was thinking about something hard. Sally frowned and resumed her seat and looked at Lightning, silently willing him to wake up. A minute later, he gave a little groan and she jumped backwards a little. She hadn't expected that to actually work. Neat...

"Stickers?"

"Ugh... S-Sally?" Lightning moaned as he struggled to open his windshield. "Wh-where are we?"

"We're at the hospital," Sally replied as she drove up to his side. Gently, she stuck her tire out a started stroking his, hoping she wasn't hurting him.

"How do you feel, hot shot?" Doc asked worriedly, parked a little ways away from the two lovebirds.

"Not so hot," Lightning said as he looked at his mentor. "Did I have surgery yet?"

"Y-yeah, last night," Sally said uncomfortably. Lightning looked at her and managed a weak smile, which she returned as she tried to calm herself. If she wasn't calm, then Lightning might get nervous and stressed about whether or not he was really okay, and she really didn't want to do that to the poor car.

"Joy," he snorted slightly. Sally laughed a little at Lightning's remark and gave him a genuine smile. Some things never changed, and Lightning's good-natured personality and toughness was one of them. If she hadn't seen it happen the previous day, she would have thought it impossible for him to crash - he just seemed to good of a racer to crash. Then again, Doc had been one of the best racecars of his time, and he crashed. He lost his entire career just because of that one crash, actually. Sally hoped that wouldn't happen to Lightning, too.

The group was silent, unsure of what to say to each other. Sally felt her tank jerk uncomfortably again, and she bit her lower lip. She could not get sick again, not in front of Lightning. "Hey, do either of you want anything to eat or drink?" she asked hurriedly, looking for an excuse to escape. Doc looked at her with slight surprise, and Sally nearly cringed at the look of barely-hidden disappointment in Lightning's eyes, but she couldn't stand down.

"Thanks, kid, but I'm fine," Doc said, looking at her suspiciously.

"I'm not hungry, but thanks," Lightning added. Sally gave a slight nod.

"I'm just gonna grab a quick cup of coffee," she lied. She gave both of them a quick smile and promised to be right back, and rolled out of the room at a casual speed. Then, once she was a few rooms away, she quickened her pace and rushed for the nearest restroom. She found a stall and zipped in, just barely reaching the toilet in time.

The second time wasn't as bad as the first. Sally was out of the stall in about two minutes. After that, she didn't really feel like a coffee, so she just drove around for a couple of minutes, waiting until she thought it long enough that Lightning and Doc would think she had actually gone for coffee. She rolled back to Lightning's room and smiled as she entered the room, but her smile faltered a bit as she noticed a doctor examining Lightning. "Hi, Sally. How was your coffee?" Lightning said, sounding a bit stronger than he had when she left.

"It was good, thanks," she smiled at her boyfriend and parked across from him at Doc's side. "Uh, who's this?"

"I'm Doctor Renée Lei, and you are?" the little forklift asked politely, looking at Sally for a moment before turning back to her patient. The forklift was pale pink with the hospital logo painted on it's side, and she had warm chocolate eyes.

"Sally Carrera," Sally replied.

"It's nice to meet you, Sally," Doctor Lei flashed her a friendly, brief smile.

"Same."

"Alright, Mr. McQueen, you look fine, although that engine will take quite a while for you to get used to. Just so you know, it's normal to be tired and weak during this stage. Nothing to be worried about, though. It was nice to meet you all. Have a nice day," Doctor Lei bid them good-bye as she gathered some of her tools and rolled out the door. Sally smiled a bit. Doctor Lei reminded her of Holley a bit. Always polite and -

_Holley._

Oh, no.

_Mater._

Sally froze, her windshield wide. How was Mater coping? Had he seen the race? Well, of course he had, he's was Lightning's best friend... And what about the rest of the town? By now, they all had to know...

"Sally?"

Sally shook herself out of her troubled thoughts and looked at Doc. "Yeah?"

"Are you okay? You spaced out," Doc explained. Sally nodded, not wanting to upset Lightning with her thoughts.

"I'm fine," she replied with a meaningful look that said,"_I'll tell you later_." Doc glanced at Lightning, who was staring at Sally and Doc with a curious expression on his face, for half a second and looked back at the Porsche and gave a small nod.

"Everything okay?" Lightning asked. Sally gave him a smile.

"Yeah, everything's fine, Stickers. So, ah, how do you feel now?"

* * *

Later, after Lightning fell asleep, Sally told Doc of her worries about the citizens of Radiator Springs. The two called Flo to see how everyone was coping. Flo said that Red was sobbing like there was no tomorrow, Lizzie had no idea what was going on, and everyone was worried, especially Mater, who was acting uncharacteristically quiet. Sally's heart went out to the poor tow truck.

"Maybe you guys could come visit. I know Stickers would love that," Sally suggested. Flo sighed.

"Well, I know we all want Lightning to recover as quickly as possible. No offense to sweet old Mater, but he isn't exactly good at staying quiet and out of trouble," Flo explained. Sally considered this. Lightning certainly wasn't going to get better if Mater convinced him to sneak out of the hospital and go tractor tipping with him in the middle of the night or something.

"I guess you're right. Plus, we're about twelve hours away from Radiator Springs, so I guess it's better if everyone just stays put," Sally sighed. Flo agreed, but then had to hang up because she had customers waiting. Sally bid her friend good-bye and hung up, sighing. Life was so complicated...

* * *

Three mornings later, Sally rolled out of Lightning's bathroom quietly. She had thrown up _again_. She was starting to get worried. She had thrown up every morning ever since Lightning got to the hospital. She supposed it was just her frayed nerves, though.

Lightning had been making good progress. He was tired and weak, but other than that, he acted the same as always. Cheery, polite, and his appetite had returned quickly, much to Sally's amusement. It always amazed her how much food men could eat.

However, yesterday afternoon, his health had quickly gone downhill for currently-unexplained reasons. During the night, he had fallen into a coma. Several more machines had been hooked up to him, and there almost always a nurse or doctor in the room with him.

Sally passed a snoring Doc quietly. There was a familiar pale pink forklift checking some of the machines hooked up to Lightning, but she looked up as Sally entered the room. Sally recognized her - Doctor Lei. "Are you okay?" the young forklift asked Sally in a hushed tone. Sally gave her a small nod. "I know it's hard, and I'm so sorry this happened to you. But I'm certain Mr. McQueen will make a speedy recovery."

Sally gave them a small smile. "I certainly hope so," she said quietly. Doctor Lei gave her a sad sort of smile.

"Well, I'll be back later to check on Mr. McQueen again. Hang in there, Miss Carrera," Doctor Lei said.

"You can just call me Sally," Sally told them. Doctor Lei smiled as she neared the door.

"Alright, Sally, and you may call me Renée," Doctor Lei - Renée - replied. "Good bye."

And with that Renée exited the room. Sally was starting to look at Lightning, her frame relaxing in misery, but a voice made her freeze. "Sally."

Sally turned to face a wide-awake Doc. "Hi," Sally greeted the old car, trying to keep her mouth level and free of guilt. Doc gave her a disapproving little glare, alerting the Porsche that her plan failed.

"Are you going to explain why you have been vomiting four mornings in a row?" Doc asked. Sally wasn't sure exactly how to respond, which was a first. "Thought so. Tell me, Sally, have you been getting strange cravings lately?"

"What? Doc, what are y - oh. Doc! I'm not - I couldn't be - I - I," Sally stuttered, backing away in surprise, her eyes wide. Doc really thought -

"Sally, I think you might be pregnant."

* * *

A quick test revealed the truth. Sally stared at Doc in utter shock and surprise.

Sally was pregnant.

She was going to have a baby.

And the father of the baby was in a coma.

"I can't believe it. I'm really pregnant? Cause you know, Doc, this would be a really cruel joke to be playing on me right now," she said. Doc chuckled weakly.

"Nope, Sally, I'm not pulling your tire. You're really pregnant," he confirmed. Sally wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. Could she make a good parent? How hard would it be to give birth to the baby? Would it be a boy, or a girl?

And would she have to raise the baby on her own?

"Doc?" she asked quietly, interrupting the old car as he gave her a couple of pieces of advise. He stopped immediately.

"Yes?"

"What if - what if Lightning - what if he doesn't make it? What if I have to raise the baby on my own?" Sally started to cry, which was most unlike her. But hey, at least she had to hormones to blame. Doc drove up and rubbed her tire soothingly.

"Sally, Lightning will be fine. He's tough."

"I know, but even the toughest car has his or her limits," Sally sniffled.

"You're right," Doc said, and Sally looked at him sharply. "Everyone does have limits, and I know for a fact that this isn't Lightning's. Sally, he loves you, and he wouldn't let himself give up and die, not without a life with you."

Sally didn't know it, of course, but Lightning had been preparing to propose to her after his race. He was planning to win, and during a speech, he would make his move. He had talked it over with Doc - Doc had even been holding onto the ring for him.

Sally gave a watery smile. "Really?"

"Really."

"Thanks, Doc."

* * *

"Doc, what's going on?" Sally asked Doc fearfully.

It was a day after Sally had learned of her pregnancy, and Doc and Sally were in Lightning's room. Lightning was still in a a coma, and Sally was beginning to truly fear that he would never wake up.

All of a sudden, one of the machines stuck in Lightning's hood started beeping shrilly, breaking the silence. Doc quickly rolled over to it and his eyes widened. He muttered something Sally hadn't ever heard him say before, but before she could comment, he ordered her,"Sally, go find a doctor and tell them to get their (insert yet another word Sally hadn't expected him to say) in here. _Now_."

Although she wanted to, Sally didn't question the older car. She did a 180 and zipped out the door. She meet Renée in the next hall. "Renée!" She blurted out. Renée, who had been talking to another doctor, turned around, looking worried about the panicked tone in Sally's voice.

"Sally, what's wrong?"

"It's Lightning!"

'What happened?"

"I-I don't really know, but a machine-in-his-room-started-beeping-a-minute-ago-a nd-Doc-took-a-look-at-it-and-told-me-to-get-a-doct or,"Sally blurted out quickly. Renée's windshield widened.

"C'mon, Fred," she told the car she had been talking to. The trio zipped to Lightning's room.

Doc was checking some of the machines, and barely looked up as the three cars made their hasty entrance. "What's going on?" Renée asked worriedly. She and the other doctor drove up next to Doc. Doc and the other man continued to check the machines, and Renée inspected Lightning. Then her eyes widened and - she put her lips to his.

It took a second for Sally to realize that Renée was preforming CPR, not stealing Sally's boyfriend. She yelped when she realized what that meant.

_Lightning had stopped breathing_.

Suddenly, Lightning gave a slight gasp and started coughing violently, and Renée rolled back with an apologetic glance towards Sally. "Sorry."

"Are you kidding? You just saved his life. I can't thank you enough!" Sally gasped, rolling towards Lightning, put the other car held her back.

"You and him," the car said, motioning to Doc, "need to get out. Sorry, but we have to do our work."

Sally nodded slightly. She gave one last nod at Renée, who didn't see because she was tending to Lightning, and drove out miserably. Doc drove behind her.

"What happened, Doc?" she asked the older car.

"Something in his engine stopped working," Doc informed her. He started to explain the details, but Sally stopped him. She really didn't need to know why her boyfriend had stopped breathing. He had nearly died... What if he did die?

No, Renée would never let that happen. "_You only just met her_..." she thought. "_But she seems trustworthy._"

Life was so confusing...

* * *

Sally couldn't fall asleep, for obvious reasons. When she finally was able, she went to sleep with a couple of tear stains on her hood. Okay, many tear stains. She was worried to death, plus she had those stupid pregnancy hormones...

"Sally!"

Sally's windshield snapped open. Doc was looking at her with a serious look on his face. "Wassamatter?" Sally yawned, then looked around and realized that she had fallen asleep in the hospital waiting room. "Stickers - is he -"

"Lightning's fine, and he'd like to tell you that himself, but the doctors wouldn't let him out of his room," Doc explained.

Sally froze, then squealed,"He's okay?!"

"He's absolutely fine," Doc assured her, letting out a small laugh. "When he got his engine replaced, it was apparently not put in quite right, and a part of it stopped working the other night without the doctors noticing. Then another part failed last night, but the doctors caught it and set everything right. He woke up about thirty minutes ago, and the doctors told me this about five minutes ago. Now, I believe you both have some big news for each other?"

Sally looked at him in joy and slight confusion at the last sentence. She had an idea of what Lightning's news could be, but she couldn't dare to even hope that maybe.. Maybe he was going to - well, here was only one way to find out. Sally grinned happily at Doc, and she zipped off to find the love of her life.

* * *

_You are invited to celebrate the wedding of Sally Carrera and Lightning McQueen on Saturday, December 1st, 2012, at 1:00._

_Radiator Springs courthouse_

_Followed by a reception._

* * *

**_It's a girl!_**

**_(Picture of a sleeping baby red Porsche Turbo)_**

**_Selena Renée McQueen_**

**_Born: April Fifth, 2013_**

**_Time: 3:17 a.m._**

**_Eye Color: Blue_**

**_Paint Color: Red_**

**_Brand: Porsche Turbo_**

* * *

Hey guys! Hope you liked this! WOAH, THIS WAS LOOOOOONG! :D

Sorry for the long wait! I've had a lot of trouble adjusting with my new school, and I've had some drama at dance. *sighs* Like Sally said, life is so confusing..

Reviews make me smile. ^^

Thanks for reading!

Kitty


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